World Environment Day is observed on June 5 every year to remind people about the importance of nature. The day is celebrated across the world to inform people that nature should not be taken for granted and must be respected for its values.
History of World Environment Day
World Environment Day is one of the biggest annual events organised by the United Nations (UN) to generate awareness about the significance of nature. The United Nations Assembly established World Environment Day in 1972, which was the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the human environment.
In 1974, the theme of World Environment Day was 'Only One Earth'. Since then, various host countries have been celebrating it. World Environment Day was first observed in 1974 in the United States.
World Environment Day theme 2021 : Ecosystem Restoration
his year, the theme of World Environment Day is "Reimagine. Recreate. Restore.". The global host for the day in 2021 to highlight the importance of ecosystem restoration is Pakistan.
According to the WED website, every three seconds, the world loses enough forest to cover a football pitch, and over the last century, humans have destroyed half of the wetlands. As much as 50 per cent of coral reefs have already been lost and up to 90 per cent of coral reefs could be lost by 2050, even if global warming is limited to an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The theme means to prevent, halt and reverse this damage – to go from exploiting nature to healing it. This World Environment Day will kick off the global mission to revive these billions of hectares.
The theme focuses that healthy ecosystems can enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change and stop the collapse of biodiversity.
What is Ecosystem Restoration
We often talk about ecosystems and restoration but do we really know what it implies and entails and what one can do for it locally? Check out these points on ecosystem restoration.
- Ecosystem restoration implies "assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed".
- It also includes conservation of the ecosystems that are fragile or still intact.
- The ecosystem can be restored in many ways. Planting trees is one of the easiest and best ways of caring for the environment.
- Peopole also need to eliminate pressures on the environment.
- Urban and rural landscapes have different ways to adapt and restore ecosystems.
Every World Environment Day is hosted by a different country, in which official celebrations take place, and this year’s host is Pakistan.
The Government of Pakistan plans to expand and restore the country’s forests through a ‘10 Billion Tree Tsunami‘ spread over five years. The campaign includes restoring mangroves and forests, as well as planting trees in urban settings, including schools, colleges, public parks and green belts.
Through the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami, Pakistan is contributing to the Bonn Challenge, a global effort linked to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Under the challenge, countries are pledging to bring 350 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2030.
India in 2018 hosted the celebration of World Environment Day Under the theme-Beat Plastic Pollution.
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030)
It is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. It aims to halt the degradation of ecosystems, and restore them to achieve global goals. Only with healthy ecosystems can we enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity.
The UN Decade runs from 2021 through 2030, which is also the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals and the timeline scientists have identified as the last chance to prevent catastrophic climate change.
